MSU Moorhead defeated Minnesota Duluth, 79-69, in the NSIC Tournament Final on Tuesday evening. Four Dragons scored in double figures in an all-around team effort. The win is MSUM's second NSIC Tournament victory in as many years and is the second in program history.
MSUM would come out to a hot start that included four early three-pointers in the first five minutes. Gavin Baumgartner (6'4''-G-1998) attributed two of those four and scored eight early points to put the Dragons in front 16-8. Lorenzo McGhee (6'5''-G) would score five consecutive points following a 6-2 Duluth run to give MSUM a 10-point advantage nearing the midway point in the half.
Dane Zimmer (6'7''-F) would nail his second three of the half to push that lead to 13. Coming into tonight's game, Zimmer had made two three-pointers all season. The junior would continue his great tournament, nearly collecting a double-double (10 points, nine rebounds) in the first half. Following Zimmer's second foul, the Dragons would look to Drew Hagen to play valuable minutes with Jaden Stanley-Williams (6'7''-F) out with an ankle injury. Hagen took a charge and forced a Bulldog turnover in his time on the floor, firing up MSUM's bench and fans. Hagen later netted a three which nearly tore the roof off the Sanford Pentagon.
On the offensive end, McGhee continued to score at-will, putting in five more points along with a Trever Kaiser (6'2''-G) basket. Those scores put the Dragons up 36-22 with less than four minutes left in the half. MSUM would close the half with a buzzer-beating runner from Jacob Beeninga (6'0''-PG) to head into the locker room leading 47-28. The Dragons shot 51.4 percent from the floor in the first 20 minutes. It was MSUM's aggressive defensive effort that helped build the lead, holding the Bulldogs to 39.3 percent shooting and eight turnovers in the half.
Beeninga and Gavin Baumgartner opened the second half with back-to-back triples for the Dragons. Those makes would give MSUM a 53-30 advantage as it brought the team total 10 three early in the half. Duluth would respond to that with an 8-0 run to cut the Dragon lead to 15 points. While the Bulldogs would go on a 13-2 run, the Dragon lead remained in double figures with under 10 minutes left. A lovely pass from Gavin Baumgartner to Logan Kinsey for a jam swung the momentum back towards MSUM.
The Dragons would lead 69-54 with under four minutes remaining. Beeninga continued to showcase why he is a catalyst, burying a three and driving to the lane for lay-in on consecutive possessions. The sophomore dove on the floor to grab a steal with three and a half minutes left that enlivened Dragon fans. Beeninga would finish the game with 17 points.
MSUM would continue to hold a 10-point lead with just over a minute left to play. The Dragons would make five of six free throws in the final minute to put the game on ice. MSUM captured its second consecutive NSIC Tournament Championship with the 79-69 win. McGhee, Baumgartner, Zimmer and Beeninga were all named to the All-Tournament team with Beeninga being named Tournament MVP.

Top Dragons
Lorenzo McGhee: 20 points, seven rebounds
Gavin Baumgartner: 17 points, four rebounds, four assists
Jacob Beeninga: 17 points
Dane Zimmer: 13 points, 12 rebounds

Courtesy of northernsun.org

All-Tournament MVP: Jacob Beeninga (6'0''-PG) of MSUM
North Division Player of the Year: Sam Masten (6'3''-G) of Northern St.
South Division Player of the Year: Jake Hilmer (5'11''-PG-2000) of Upper Iowa
Defensive Player of the Year: Lucas Duax (6'3''-G-1999) of Upper Iowa
Newcomer of the Year: Antwan Kimmons (6'0''-PG) of Concordia-SP
Coach of the Year: Saul Phillips of Northern St.

All-NSIC First Team 2023

Fink

Sutherland

Kimmons

Blair

Willingham

Baumgartner

First Team
Isaac Fink (6'4''-G) of Augustana
John Sutherland (6'7''-F) of Bemidji St.
Antwan Kimmons (6'0''-PG) of Concordia-SP
Drew Blair (6'5''-G) of UMD
Malik Willingham (6'3''-G) of MSU
Gavin Baumgartner (6'4''-G-1998) of MSUM
Jacob Beeninga (6'0''-PG) of MSUM
Sam Masten (6'3''-G) of Northern St.
Jacksen Moni (6'10''-F) of Northern St.
Matt Cartwright (6'5''-G-1998) of Sioux Falls
Jake Hilmer (5'11''-PG-2000) of Upper Iowa
Jordan Janssen (6'7''-F-1999) of WSC

All-NSIC Second Team 2023

Kone

Katona

Moore

McGhee

Broadway

Belka

Second Team
Mohamed Kone (6'2''-G) of Bemidji St.
Charlie Katona (6'6''-F) of UMD
Trevor Moore (6'5''-G-1999) of MSU
Lorenzo McGhee (6'5''-G) of MSUM
Khari Broadway (6'1''-G) of Minot St.
Jordan Belka (6'7''-F) of Northern St.
Dunwa Omot (6'3''-G) of SMSU
Jake Phipps (6'9''-C-2000) of SMSU
Lucas Duax (6'3''-G-1999) of Upper Iowa
Nick Reid (6'7''-F) of Upper Iowa
Nate Mohr (6'2''-G-1999) of WSC
Connor Dillon (6'2''-G) of Winona St.

NSIC All-Tournament Team 2023

McGhee

Baumgartner

Zimmer

Beeninga

Blair

All-Tournament Team
Lorenzo McGhee (6'5''-G) of MSUM
Gavin Baumgartner (6'4''-G-1998) of MSUM
Dane Zimmer (6'7''-F) of MSUM
Jacob Beeninga (6'0''-PG) of MSUM
Drew Blair (6'5''-G) of UMD